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Rook .\A(>% U.S 



^■"jrf^&'^S^"^} HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES {°S^oyS^ 

ALEXANDER CLARK MITCHELL 

(Late a Representative from Kansas) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



DELIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

SIXTY-SECOND CONGRESS 



Proceedings in the House 
April 21, 1912 



Proceedings in tlie Senate 
February 8, 1913 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 



fifell 



WASHINGTON 
1913 







D. OF D. 
OCT ;. I9I3 



1^ 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. N. H. Holmes, D.D 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 1 8 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Campbell, of Kansas 10 

Mr. Sloan, of Nebraska 13 

Mr'. Young, of Kansas 15 

Mr. Murdock, ef Kansas 17 

Mr. Rees, of Kansas J 21 

Mr. Lobeck, of Nebraska 24 

Mr. Jackson, of Kansas 26 

■ Mr. Martin, of South Dakota 32 

Mr. Taggart, of Kansas 36 

Proceedings in the Senate 45 

Prayer by Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D 45, 47 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Curtis, of Kansas 49 

Mr. Bristow, of Kansas 51 



[31 




H 



HON. ALEXANDER C. MITCHELL 



DEATH OF HON. ALEXANDER CLARK MITCHELL 



Proceedings in the House 

Saturday, July 8, 1911. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The Rev. N. H. Holmes, D. D., of Pittsburgh, Pa., offered 
the following prayer: 

Lord, our God, Thou who art the same to-day, yes- 
terday, and forever, help us to worship Thee. We de- 
voutly pra)' for Thy blessing to rest upon everj^ section 
of our broad land, and upon these, its Representatives, 
and upon liim who guides and presides over their delib- 
erations. Grant, we beseech of Thee, that they may all 
have wisdom and strength fi'om on high to discharge their 
manifold duties — duties freighted with far-reaching re- 
sponsibilities antl consequences — as in the sight of God. 
Let Thy fatherly goodness, we pray Thee, and Thy kind 
providence be extended toward the friends and loved 
ones of this House, and grant that such as are separated 
one from another may be kept far from harm and danger 
and sorrow. Lord God Almighty, visit this morning 
the stricken home in Kansas where has gone to his last 
home one of the Members of this House. Our Father, 
Thy word teaches us to pray for all in authority, and we 
gladly pray for all those in authority in every State and 
Territory in our Union, and for our President. God 
bless him, and guide him in the Nation's affairs over 
which he presides, and prosper his measures for univer- 
sal peace. And now, O Lord, take us all and keep us by 
Thy power through faith unto salvation, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

[5] 



Memorial Aiidresses: Representative Mitchell 

Mr. Prouty. Mr. Speaker, I rise to announce the death 
of one of the Members of this House, Mr. Mitchell, from 
the second district of Kansas, who died yesterday morn- 
ing and whose funeral will take place to-morrow after- 
noon at Lawrence, Kans. I desire, in the absence of anj' 
member of the delegation from Kansas, all of whom left 
the city last night in order to be present at the funeral, 
to offer the following resolution, which 1 send to the 
Clerk's desk and ask to have read. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

House resolution 236 

Resolved, That the House has heard with regret and profound 
sorrow of tlic death of Alexander Clark Mitchell, Representa- 
tive in this House from the second congressional district of 
Kansas. 

nesoloed. That a committee of 15 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral at Lawrence, Kans., and that the necessary 
expenses attending the execution of this order be paid out of 
the contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly 
carrying out the provisions of this resolution. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The question being taken, the resolution was unani- 
mously agreed to, and the Speaker appointed as the 
committee on the part of the House Mr. Rucker of Mis- 
souri, Mr. Russell. Mr. Rubey, Mr. Pepper, Mr. Tribble, 
Mr. Boohei-, Mr. Murray, Mr. Lobeck. Mr. Campbell, 
Mr. Murdock, Mr. Madison, Mr. Anthony, Mr. Rees. Mr. 
.lackson. and Mr. Young of Kansas. 

Mr. Prouty. Mr. Speaker, as a further mark of respect 
to our deceased colleague, I move that the House do 
now adjourn. 



[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock 
and 11 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned until 
Wednesday, July 12, 1911, at 12 o'clock noon. 

Thursday, February 29, Wi2. 

Mr. Campbell. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that Sundays April 14, be set apart under special order 
for eulogies of the late Alexander C. Mitchell, of the 
second district of Kansas, and of the late Edmond H. 
Madison, of the seventh district of Kansas, late Members 
of this House. I move that that day be set aside for that 
purpose. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Camp- 
bell] asks unanimous consent that Sunday, April 14, be 
set aside for eulogies of the late Mr. Mitchell and the 
late Mr, Madison, both of Kansas. Is there objection? 
[After a pause.] The Chair Iiears none, and il is so 
ordered. 

Tuesday, April 2, 1912. 

Mr. Campbell. Mr. Speaker, an order was made some 
days ago setting apart Sunday, the 14th day of April, for 
general memorial services on two late Representatives 
of this House. I want to separate those services, and I 
ask unanimous consent that the 14th of April be fixed 
for memorial services for Edmond H. Madison, late a 
Representative from the State of Kansas, and Sunday, 
April 21, be fixed for the memorial services on the late 
Representative Alexander C. Mitchell, of Kansas. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Kansas asks unani- 
mous consent to modify the order of the House, to the 
extent of having Sunday, April 14, set apart for the 
memorial services on the late Representative Madison, 
and Sunday, April 21, for memorial services on the late 
Representative Mitchell. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

Sunday, April 21, 1912. 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon, and was called to 
order by Mr. Neelcy, as Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered 
the following prayer: 

Thou God and Father of us all, in whose changeless, 
boundless love we have our being, hold us close to Thee 
that we may feel the warm life-giving currents ever 
flowing out from Thee, that our faith, hope, and love may 
be strengthened. 

We bless Thy holy name for the words which fell 
from the lips of the Master: "Let not your heart be 
troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my 
Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I 
would have told you." 

The sands of life run swiftly; we know not when the 
silver chord shall be loosed, the golden bowl broken. But 
so long as faith, hope, and love live, so long the 
immortality of the soul is assured. 

I know not where His islands lift 

Their fronded palms in air; 
I only know I can not drift 

Beyond His love and care. 

In this love our souls speed onward to the " Land of the 
Leal," where we shall dwell witli our loved ones forever. 
Be this our comfort, the hope and comfort of the 
bereaved wife and children of the deceased Member in 
whose memory we are assembled, and paeans of praise we 
will ever give to Thee through Him who died that we 
might live. Amen. 



[8] 



Proceedings in the House 



The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will read the 
Journal of the proceedings of yesterday. 

Mr. Campbell. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the further reading of the Journal be dispensed with. 

The motion was agreed to. 

Mr. Campbell. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolution which 
I send to the Clerk's desk and move its adoption. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

House resolution 503 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. Alexander C. Mitchell, late a Member of the House from 
the State of Kansas. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased and in recognition of his distinguished public 
career the House, at the conclusion of these exercises, shall stand 
adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to 
the family of the deceased. 

The resolution was unanimously agreed to. 



[9] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Campbell, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: If any other evidences were wanting to 
show the tragedies there are in life, that evidence could 
be supplied in the oft repeated meetings of this House 
to honor the memorj' of departed Members. Yesterday 
a Member was in his seat; to-day his desk is covered with 
a wreath of flowers; to-morrow his seat will be occupied 
by another. And in the rapid succession of these events 
ambition is gratified, hope is deferred, and men are for- 
gotten. Alexander Clark Mitchell, in whose memory 
we are met to-day, was a poor boy. He was one of a 
family that earned their bread according to the decree 
entered in the Garden. He knew none of the luxuries 
of life in his earlier days. His was a life of constant 
labor, mingled with anxiety as to the future, but always 
filled with ambition and hope. He was not content to 
remain a metal worker. After he had reached mature 
manhood he acquired that education that fitted him for 
the law and for a useful public career. Mitchell was a 
good la\\yer. He prepared his cases carefully and tried 
them exceptionally well. He entered public life as a 
student of men and events. He served four terms in the 
Legislature of the State of Kansas and lajjidly rose to 
leadership in that bod}-, a leadership that naturally sug- 
gested him for a liigher and more useful position. He 
had an ambition for a seat in this House. Men of ability, 
of leadership in their community and of ambition, some- 
how look to tlie National House of Representatives as a 

[10] 



Adhress of Mr. Campbell, of Kansas 

place in which to take a part in their countrj^'s work. 
I violate no confidence when I saj^ that Alex. Mitchell 
had an ambition for many years to occupy a seat in this 
House and to become one of the leading Representatives 
in this great body. He was destined to serve here but a 
few days. That life that he had so trained and directed 
for usefulness, that ambition that he had at last seen 
gratified, was to be of but few days' service here. 

I think he cast but one vote on an important measure 
in the House. He appeared upon the floor but a few 
times. Then he yielded to an illness that had seized him 
during his campaign for election. That illness grew 
upon him until finally, on the 7th day of July last, he 
yielded up the last there was of his life. There was 
something more than ordinary in his death. He died a 
death similar to those that wc read of in the years that 
are gone. I can remember as a child that the first ques- 
tion asked of one who died was whether or not he died 
in the faith, whether he died in the hope of immortality 
and of heaven. It was rare in my early days that one 
ever heard the query asked as to how much life insurance 
a man had or how much property he left. Those were 
questions that were of minor importance. The question 
of supreme importance in the hour of a man's death was 
whether or not he had died fit for the Master's kingdom. 
Dui'ing the lingering months of Alexander Mitchell's 
illness he meditated much on the hour that was fast ap- 
proaching when he should bid farewell to everything that 
was dear in life — family, ambition, place, and all. When 
the final hour came, Mitchell called his friends about 
him and took them by the hand and talked to them of his 
hope of immortality. He talked to them in the old way 
in which those who departed this life in the hope of 
blessed immortality used to talk to their friends. And 
one after another his friends gathered about him, and 



[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

he took his last words to bid them lead upright. Chris- 
tian lives and fit themselves for the hour that he was so 
nearly approaching. Yie took his farewell of his chil- 
dren and finally of his wife. Death to him was the portal 
to everlasting life. In his death the community in which 
he lived had a new baptism in the faith of the fathers. 
The entire community in which he lived felt a revival of 
the old-time religious sentiment that taught people to live 
well that they might die prepared for heaven. 

Mitchell performed well his part in life. It comes to 
but few men to acquire the distinction that he acquired; 
and but few men have left the community in which they 
lived with a more profound esteem of their fellow men 
than did Alexander C. Mitchell. 



[12] 



Address of Mr. Sloan, of Nebraska 

Mr. Speaker: A Member from Kansas suggested the 
propriety of a brief tribute from me as a neighbor. Kan- 
sas and Nebraska, with contiguous territory, a common 
history, similar resources, like industries, having much 
in common politically, their Representatives well may 
deem themselves neighbors. 

As a neighbor, I remember Alexander C. Mitchell but 
a few daj's in the House. We took our seats together. 
Individual design made us neighbors in the great West. 
A common ambition brought us here. Chance made us 
neighbors in the House. 

Upon similar solemn occasions Members recite the 
achievements and extol the ability and character of the 
deceased. I can not speak of his congressional achieve- 
ments, because in the morning of his career death 
claimed him. Against that claim how powerless are 
friendship, wealth, and position. Obedience must be 
prompt and implicit. In this it matters not whether the 
call comes when he is on his couch at home and among 
friends or out upon the trackless ocean where the high 
product of naval genius clashes with a harsh fact of 
nature in the form of a deadly iceberg. His work will be 
left unfinished and his brethern mourn. 

Years ago I read — let me confess with some eifort — 
some of the essays of Emerson. One, in its choice expres- 
sion, practical philosophy, and subtle human touch, im- 
pressed me more perhaps than all the other writings of 
the transcendental sage. That was " Compensation." 
The nice balancing of the phenomena of nature and 
human experiences, charmingly told, furnishes a source 
to which many could turn for solace and comfort. 

If our deceased brother was denied a long and honor- 
able career, which his years seemed to warrant and his 

[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative INIitchell 

own ability fit him, thei'e arc still compensations for his 
untimely taking off. He came to this House with the high 
ideals of a new Member. His ideals of the individual and 
collective membership have suffered no rude shock. An 
exalted estimate of legislation pi'oposed received no rude 
awakening, to be followed by a downward revision. Men 
and measures probably both appeared in the glamour of 
ideality. The belief that there was little for the party but 
all to be for the State received no harsh contradiction. 

If there was aught in store for disillusions; if selfish- 
ness was to appear when altruism was expected; if the 
demands of the country were to be subordinated to the 
claims of party; if the great names on the rolls of the 
House, giants of State, were to be proved as standing on 
feet of clay, and if in the grind of caucus and committee 
the idealistic surface should give way to the " seamy 
side"; if practical legislation was to receive the impress 
of tlie force, will, and influence of selfish interests or 
selfish men, then these disillusions were not for him. 

Nor was he, after years of faithful devotion to his dis- 
trict and Nation, in the fullness of years and the ripeness 
of experience, for some real or fancied error in judgment, 
denied a new vote of confidence by the people for whom 
he labored. 

Tiuit lie was selected from a great district, having many 
great men, to sit in this historic Hall and mingle with the 
mighty; that his ability warranted, liis achievements de- 
served, and character justified this distinction are proud 
facts bequeathed by him to his family and posterity. Had 
his life been spai-ed for the usual span his services in this 
body would have marked him for its honors and distinc- 
tions is the belief of his friends and llie conviction of 
impartial acquaintances. This is a rich heritage in this 
country, where excellence and character are the unfail- 
ing insignia of rank and worth. 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Young, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker : We assemble to-day on a sad and extraor- 
dinary occasion. On last Lord's day we met in this Cham- 
ber and lifted up our feeble voices in paying a tribute 
to the memory of a noble son of Kansas, our colleague; 
we are here again to-day to say the farewell words as 
best we may to the earthly career of another of her 
honored sons — our colleague — Alexander C. Mitchell, 
and strive to cherish his memory in the years to come. 

0, not in cruelty, not in wrath, 

Tlie reaper came tliat day; 
'Twas an angel visited the green earth 

And took the flowers away. 

Let us not be unmindful that while we are mourning 
our loss, that at this very hour there are being spoken, 
from almost every pulpit in the land, words of grief for 
the victims of the greatest disaster of the century. 

We are here still, but forcibly feel the transitory nature 
of human life. We are shadows pursuing one another, 
and soon there is an end. 

Be ye ready; the summons cometh quickly. 

Alexander C. Mitchell had but a brief service in this 
House, yet on other fields of usefulness he served long 
and well, ever active, clean, true, and honored wherever 
known. He at all times had the courage of his con- 
victions, which was so well illustrated during his illness 
in this city, when, against the advice of his physician, 
he insisted on being brought to this Chamber, where he 
cast his first vote on a measure he regarded as vital to 
the best interest of the country, and which proved to 
be his last in this Chamber. 

[15] 



Memorial AnoRESSEs: Representative Mitciiei.i. 

As a la\\'j'er he was ever strong and trustworthy. As 
a member of another legislative body, where I knew him 
best, he stood in the forefront advocating measures for 
the betterment of society. As a citizen he did much for 
his city, State, and countrj% and seemed ever to realize 
that in life's voyage life's struggles are all failures if 
they do not from day to day produce something done, 
something said, that makes the lives of others better, 
sweeter, and nobler. 

Who God doth late and early pray, 
More of His grace than fights to lend, 

And walks with man from day to day 
As with a brother and a friend. 

Alexander C. Mitchell's Christian life w as so earnest, 
strong, and steadfast that when the inevitable messenger 
with the inverted torch beckoned him to depart he 
obeyed the summons and approached the journey, 

Sustained and soothed 
By an unfaltering trust, 

founded upon an unwavering faith in Him who said " I 
will never leave thee nor forsake thee," and went down 
through the valley of the shadow of death over into the 
realm where "Nearer, My God, to Thee" is no longer a 
song, but is an everlasting reality. 



[16] 



Address of Mr. Murdock, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: Within my memory I have record of no 
one who surpassed in earnest desire to be of service in 
this world the late Alexander C. Mitchell. 

As I look back to-day upon his brief career in Congress, 
the thought of him which rises singly and persists with 
emphasis, above all othei's in connection with my 
knowledge of him, is that of his patheticallj' determined 
devotion to duty. 

Six months before he came here as a Member of 
Congress he was the embodiment of vitality, vigor, 
health; the splendors of sturdiness, breadth of shoulder, 
strength of limb, clearness of eye, certaintj' of iiiovement 
with all the marvels of physical confidence, the confidence 
that paints the cheek of youth with the flush of daring, 
these were his at fifty as they had been at sixteen. 

And then came dissolution — certain, unmistakable, 
swift — remorselessly swift. I saw the man who had 
been physically perfect in the fall of 1910, the man who 
had been iron under the stress of a long campaign, bend 
beneath disease. I saw him creep into this Chamber, 
sick, worn with pain, pallid under the pitiless levy upon 
his vitality. I saw him grope with shaking white hands 
among the red desks here, sink into his seat, and await 
the roll call, and, with a momentary alertness, cast his 
vote, with that which seemed unmistakable interest, then 
lapse back again into his lonely, wearj-, hopeless battle. 

And yet I have thought often, it was not interest that 
brought him here. He was too ill for that. He came at 
the call of duty. This was paramount with him — to 
render a full measure of service. Many another, close 

92842°— 13 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

to the grave as he, the issue of a campaign ilaring its 
legislative hour here, the hue and ciy of faction, the noisy 
joust of partisans would have summoned in vain. 

There was a strong, firm foundation, deeply laid, for 
this characteristic in our friend. Nature gave him in 
equal proportions the qualities of kindliness and earnest- 
ness. It was never in him to be unkind, and he could not 
be purposeless. He could be candid without being cruel, 
and he could be uncompromising without being intol- 
erant. I believe it was possible for Alexander Mitchell 
to win a victory without a sense of triumph to a greater 
degree than any man I have ever known in political life. 
If he were ambitious, and I doubt that he ever was, he 
wore but little of ambition's livery. Of plot and dubious 
plan, of sleight and equivocation, he had but little 
knowledge, and he made no use. 

But he stood ready to obey the command of the day's 
work, and through his life the call was incessant. He 
was out of the university in 1889. After that he served 
as county attorney at Lawrence, Kans.; many years as a 
regent of the Kansas University; many years, also, as a 
member of the legislature. Eventually he was elected 
to Congress. 

He came here in the short session of the Sixty-first 
Congress, the session which followed the election of 1910. 
He was intensely interested in the vast administrative 
forces of the Government as they are found in Wash- 
ington. 

As a young man his activities had revealed to him the 
governmental processes as they exist in county seats. 
Later he had opportunity to know thoroughly the larger 
mcclianism of the State, and the tremendous machinery' 
of llic National Government fascinated him, as it must 
fascinate most men when they approach it closely to 
study it. The magnitude of the great departments of this 

118J 



Address of Mr. Murdoch, of Kansas 

Government, their seemingly endless divisions and sub- 
divisions, the inertia of precedent, which sometimes make 
them appear helpless in a leash of tape — the mightiness 
often of rule and regulation and frequent futility of law — 
the complexities of expenditure and collection, the ad- 
justment, renewal, and evolution of Congress and court, 
of Nav^', Army, Post Office — these instruments of the 
democracy at once invite the student and resist him; by 
their very intricacy they beckon him to investigation and 
understanding and defy him. 

This challenge the late Alex. Mitchell accepted with 
spirit. Industrious, discriminating, thorough, executive, 
he set about the business of his new life. The old Con- 
gress which he visited in its closing session passed away. 
The new Congress convened in extraordinary session. 
Mr. iNIiTCHELL came with the others. It was evident to all 
from the first that he was ill. During the spring he at- 
tended the more important sessions. One day he went 
back to Kansas, and in midsummer, before the close of 
the special session, he died. 

Somewhere I have read or heard — I do not know if it 
be true — that when Horace Greeley was dying he mur- 
mured to those about him, " Fame is a vapor, popu- 
larity an accident; riches take wings; those who bless 
to-day will curse to-morrow. Onh' one thing endures — 
character." 

This must be the thought, in part at least, of everyone 
who knows that death is upon him. When the stage is 
set for the last scene this thought must for an instant 
stand before a man stark, detached, solitary, dominant. 
When the tinseled vanities are shoved back and away, 
when the glittering aspirations of a lifetime flicker and 
go out, when those things which long we thought were 
substance are fading into shadows, then through the gray 
light which I fancy falls upon the world as the dying see 

tl9] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

it, that in a man which is the product of conscience — 
character — must glow deep, vital, eternal, out of the drab 
midst of things. 

Alex. Mitchell knew the moment of his dissolution. 
Of that moment's alternatives — hope and despair — he 
chose hope. To those who loved him, at his bedside, he 
spoke of death calmlj', with a sweet certaintj' of the 
future. There came to him, as there came to William 
McKinley, the soothing echo of an old-time hymn, the 
mighty comfort of a line from the Sermon on the Mount. 
And as he passed on he went as gently as he had lived, 
mighty in his faith — that death is not — that life is — , 
primal, absolute, eternal. 



[20] 



i 



Address of Mr. Rees, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: Alexander Clark Mitchell was not a 
Member of this House long enough to become famihar 
to the majority of the body, but he inspired a sincere 
respect in all who met with him. The fatal maladj% from 
which he died, fastened itself upon him during his cam- 
paign, but he did not realize that there was anything 
seriously the matter with him until after he had been 
elected. He came on to Washington and took up his 
duties here, but the marks of patient suffering were 
already upon his strong, kind face. He came to the 
House daily for a short time during the extra session, but 
was soon confined to his room, and his last appearance 
in the House was when he came over to vote for reci- 
procity. He smiled upon his friends when he entered 
the room, but as soon as his features were at rest, while 
he was listening to the discussion, we could see all too 
plainly the shadow of his approaching end. 

His life will not be measured by his achievements here, 
but by his record at Lawrence, Kans., where he came with 
his father early in life and commenced his struggle as a 
blacksmith. And it was in his sturdy calling, perhaps, 
while yet in his youth, that his strong character was 
formed. At this toilsome occupation he earned enough 
to carry him through the law department of the uni- 
versity. He afterwards opened an ofTice in Lawrence, 
in competition with some of the ablest lawyers of this 
country, and soon succeeded in sufficiently impressing 
himself upon the favorable consideration of this scholarly 
community to be elected county attorney. He afterwards 
served for six years in the Kansas Legislature, and was 

[21] 



Memorial Addhesses: Repuksextative Mitcheee 

for four years a regent of the State University, and was 
finally elected a Member of this body. He was an able 
la\\'j'cr, and, had he lived, he would have made his mark 
in Congress. 

He was a strong, clean, manly man. If you still retain 
the little booklet containing the pictures of those who 
served in the first session of the Sixty-second Congress, 
turn to his picture and note the strong, clear-cut features. 
It is a splendid likeness of one who was in every way 
a splendid man. He was sincere, honest, and loyal, as 
well as a fearless advocate of every cause he believed 
was right. 

It can be truly said of him that he did not seek distinc- 
tion and political preferment for ambition's sake, but in 
the hope that he might serve the people and the country 
he loved. He was a good lawyer, and had a good prac- 
tice, but never became rich or even well to do, because 
he gave too generously of his time and service to the 
poor. 

Alexander Mitchell was devoted to his wife and chil- 
dren, and they repaid him with an affection and tender 
solicitude for his welfare that assuaged the anguish of 
our departed colleague during the long days and nights 
of his silent, patient suffering, until at last the Angel of 
Death in pity released his soul from his weaiy ])ain- 
racked body. 

Life itself is an impenetrable mystery, and before death 
we bow our heads in silent awe. Its unsounded depths 
we know not. We cry out for a light Ihal will satisfy 
our reason and our judgment, but it conies not; yet some- 
how there steals into our inner consciousness an intuitive 
feeling that all is well. The calm beauty of the dead, 
the benediction of tears, the feeling that lakes possession 
of us that there is something sacred in the presence of 
death itself, as thougii we knew llu-ough some unconscious 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Rees, of Kansas 



process of the mind that a divine visitant had touched 
the dying eyes — these and other intangible things calm 
our spirits as the cooing half-audible words of a young 
mother that can not be understood soothes and lulls to 
sleep the newborn babe. 

To Alexander Mitchell, however, there was a surer 
guide. He grounded his unwavering faith upon the old 
Bible, that has, in all the generations since the Gospels 
were written, helped to sustain men in their darker hours. 
Let us believe that what we poor mortals lament as the 
death — the last sad end of him we loved^ — was but the 
dawning of the eternal morning for Alexander MrrcHELL. 



[23] 



Address of Mr. Lobeck, of Nebraska 

Mr. Speaker: We meet to-day to pay our tribute to 
Alexander Clark Mitchell. 

My acquaintance with him was but slight. Like myself, 
he was just entering upon the duties of a Congressman, 
so that I had seen him only occasionally, but I knew of 
the high esteem in which he was held by those who 
knew him well. 

On account of his malady he was unable to be present 
at the daily sessions as often as he would have liked to, 
but when it was necessary for him to perform some public 
dutj' he came and bore his pain and suflerings quietly and 
made no complaint, and his voice was heard for what 
he believed was right. 

I was one of the Congressmen, Mr. Speaker, designated 
to go to his home and attend the funeral, and there I 
learned of the love and respect given him by his fellow 
neighbors. I also learned of the high esteem in which he 
was held by his townsmen, and to me no higher tribute 
of esteem can be paid than to know that all his neighbors 
loved him. The great men of the State were there to 
pay their respects, and beside them stood the humblest 
citizen to pay his last tribute to his beloved friend who 
had gone to the great beyond. I learned from his neigh- 
bors about iiis character. He was a strong man, a loving 
man, a man who walked erect among his fellow men 
and was counted a manly man. It seems strange that 
Providence sliould take away from the activities of life 
this man of strong character, who was able to do so much 
good, be of so much service, and do so nmch kindness 
to his fellow man. We do not understand it, but God 

(24J 



Address of Mr. Loueck, of Nebraska 

in his mysterious way knows what is best. We love to 
think of strong men of noble character, whether they 
are in the humble pursuits of life or if they attain 
eminence. We judge a man by what he does, and Con- 
gressman Mitchell was a man upright in his actions and 
always readj' to help mankind. 

I saw the love in the home; I saw the gentle wife, the 
loving daughter, and the son. By the surroundings I 
knew that it had been a happy home and one that all 
might love to enter, and my sympathy went out to that 
wife, to that son and daughter, who had lost a loving 
husband and a respected father. 

The loving tribute by his pastor, the crowded edifice 
where the neighbors and friends came to pay their last 
respects, the hundreds that stood outside, showed to me 
the love and respect in which he was held. 

We laid him away under the big trees in a beautiful 
cemetery near the city in which he had given a long life 
of usefulness to his neighbors and to his State. 

I am conscious, Mr. Speaker, of having done scant 
justice to the many excellent traits of character of our 
departed friend and colleague. Whatever is spoken here 
is but the gratification we have in paying tribute to our 
departed brother. His life was his most eloquent eulogy, 
and to us it is only left to regret that he should have been 
cut off in the very prime of life, when he could have 
been of great service to his State, his counti-y, and liis 
fellow men. 



[251 



Address of Mr. Jackson, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker : Some one has said, " When, after a long 
acquaintance, you feel that the more j'ou know of a man 
the better you like him, you may safely call that man a 
loyal and worthy friend." Measured by this rule, 
Alexander C. Mitchell was called friend by more inti- 
mate associates than any man who has lived in Kansas. 
His strongest personal characteristic was the light that 
shone from his strong face and honest eyes, attracting 
with invitation of honesty and helpfulness, and never 
disappointing the faith imposed in him. 

His death, in the midst of achievement of a well-trained, 
fruitful middle age, was by him bravely and calmly met. 
To these numerous intimate friends, and the citizens of 
a great State, who have come to know his value as a 
public servant, his death was a tragedy. 

And no one who knew him doubts that had he been 
spared, to have served here even a few months, his asso- 
ciates here and the people of our great Nation would 
have said, " Knowing him better, we see his great worth." 

And this, indeed, was the tragedy, that he who could 
have lielped us so much; he, whose strong hand had been 
so faithfully trained to work for the people he loved, just 
as it was about to reap the fruitage of a strenuous life of 
toil, should be striken at his post of duty. So far as man 
is concerned, there is nauglit to reason why? There is 
but one answer, and tliat is, "' It was God's will." 

As was so eloquently said of him by his pastor in the 
beautiful funeral oration, " Mr. Mitchell was a toiler." 
His fellow man will never know, his country can never 
know, what it cost him, from youth to middle age, to 

[26] 



Address of Mr. Jackson, of Kansas 



answer " Here " at the call of duty in the Nation's great 
Congress a few weeks before his untimely death. 

It is a long road from the machinist's bench in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, by way of a turning lathe in Kansas, finally 
a legal education in the university and a drudging law- 
yer's office, and public service to a seat in the National 
Congress — all marked by honest, strenuous toil that left 
its furrows in the strong lines of his kindly face. 

Modern history, tradition, and song and story are full 
of incidents of the great achievements of a Lincoln edu- 
cated by the lighf of pine knots, and a Garfield toiling on 
a towpath, to higher mental attainments. But in the 
modern times, when the pine knots have disappeared 
from our civilization and tlie laborer of the towpath and 
the " man with the hoe " have almost been erased fi"om 
our American industrial life, and their places taken by 
the skilled mechanic of greater power and wider experi- 
ence, are there not among these, surrounded by endowed 
colleges, great universities, and well-filled libraries, Lin- 
colns and Garfields with little assistance from any of these 
great institutions, courageously earning their daily bread 
by honest toil and slowly mounting the steeps of higher 
training, to the end that they may serve their fellow 
men ? 

Shall they deserve less credit because their pine knots, 
lighted by their own hands, are brighter than those of 
another age and their towpaths of service broader and 
longer? 

So, too, the circles of their lives must be broader and 
achievements stronger than when men and our national 
life existed in the pine knot and the towpath age. And 
this man of toil, our friend, prepared himself for his 
work by close touch with the real things of modern life 
for the great opportunities it affords for real, unselfish 
service. 



[27] 



Memorial Adukesses : Rephesentative Mitchell 

" He was a workman who needed not to be ashamed." 
As in earlier life he wrought with his hands things worth 
while, he saw in life things worth while and attained 
them for others and for himself. 

Thomas Carlyle's father was a stonemason, and the son 
was always proud of the father's bridges. They stood the 
test of time and strain. 

So the children and dear ones of our departed friend 
shall find in his work in every place the bridges that span 
great deeds and that endure the test of time. 

It is no small tribute to the earnestness, industrj', and 
power of achievement of a man of the culture and power 
of intellect of Representative Mitchell to be able to say 
that at one time in his life with his own hands he toiled 
in the greatest machine shops of the West, or that his 
hands held the instruments which put the last fine touch 
on the strongly formed and highly polished machinery 
that brought service and safety and happiness to the 
members of the human family. And yet this same brain 
and these same strong hands a short time later framed 
legal briefs that settled the interests of the same great 
company in whose mills he worked, in the courts, guided 
the destiny of his State and held the attention of this 
Nation. 

Mr. Mitchell was really a great lawj'er. As nearly as 
any man I ever knew he carried out the lesson of Lin- 
coln's advice to the young man — 

If you can't be a good man and a good lawyer, leave olF trying 
to be a lawyer at all. 

Mr. Mitchell endeavored in his innermost soul to be 
a good lawj'cr and a good man, and he succeeded; as his 
broad, strong intellect strove for real things of life, it 
sought and found liie things worth while in the problems 
of his profession. He dealt neither in trickery nor sub- 



[281 



Address of Mr. Jackson, of Ivansas 



lerfuge, and lived and worked to defend right by the 
law and not to smother right with the law. 

He would not have stooped to have offended justice 
and public rights bj' seeking the release of criminals by 
invoking the jury's sympathy for the criminal's wife and 
children. 

But when widowed mothers and defenseless orphans 
were in ti'ouble no day was too long or night too dark 
for him to find a way for their relief. No man ever 
consulted his pocketbook before he sought his advice 
or felt himself robbed after he had done so. 

It was not strange, therefore, that much of this man's 
professional time v.as given for causes that brought him 
little or no remuneration. When it was determined a 
few years ago that the standard of the profession of law 
in the State should be raised and the examinations for 
admission to the bar taken control of by the supreme 
court, it was but natural that such a man should be 
chosen as a member of the commission to conduct these 
examinations. He held the place with honor to the Stale 
and its great court until his election to Congress. So, 
frequently, came these calls for great public duties. 

His legal services were sought in times of public strife 
by the governor, the State oflicers, and the legislature. 

As chairman of the judiciary committee of the house of 
representatives for several terms he gave honest and 
etficient service. His committee was neither a morgue 
for just measures nor a fanfare of trumpets for dema- 
gogues. It was a workshop where the people's laws were 
molded with jealous care and brought into light, and 
measures of avarice and viciousness promptly and firmly 
strangled. His greatest single cases were, perhaps, the 
Perkins insurance case and the Kansas bank-guaranty 
case. Each of these ran through the State and numerous 
Federal courts, and will be precedents of importance in 



[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

future litigation in their respective liranches of law. 
The latter case was conducted simultaneously with simi- 
lar cases in Oklahoma and Nebraska, and was followed 
in the State courts and, in some form, in all the Federal 
courts, ending in the Supreme Court of the United States, 
where Mr. Mitchell appeared only a few months before 
his death to assist in its argument. His services in the 
case, in maintaining the cause of the State, was invalu- 
able and, as has been noted, was of far more than State 
importance. 

This is not the time or place to speak in detail of his 
legal achievements. In the last weeks of his life he was 
brave and unselfish, as he has always been. He bore with 
greatest fortitude severest pain in silence or with the 
smile of his healthful days rather than give alarm to the 
members of his family and his friends. 

A weaker man would never have come to Washington, 
but the same call to duty that had marked his entire life 
caused him to respond from a bed of pain to the call of 
the President, and with pallid cheek and unsteady step 
mount the steps of the National Capitol at Washington at 
the special session. 

His mind was still clear and forceful. He entered into 
the spirit of all the contests over public questions with 
his old-time vigor and enthusiasm. But one day there 
came the words, " Oh, there is nothing worth while but 
health." Then came the hurried trip home and the end 
of a useful life. 

And so, in sight of the great university which had taught 
him and which he had served as adviser and regent, and 
in view of the beautiful little city which sheltered his 
home and friends, we built the grassy mound and heaped 
it o'er with flowers from the hands of tliosc who loved 
him. We left him in the swelling bosom of the great Kan- 



ISO] 



Address of Mr. Jackson, of Kansas 



sas plain, bold and boundless as the ocean, like the spirit 
of him who had gone away. 

He has lived successfully in the highest sense if those 
he leaves in this world, when in doubt and indecision over 
the affairs of life listen, for his voice, and in the silence 
seem to hear it, and strive to do as he would have them 
do were he yet with them. 

And in this sense the life spirit of our departed friend 
shall live upon this earth as the spirit which God gave, 
loved, and took away again lives in Paradise. 

In the home circle, in the affairs of the community, city 
and State, his voice shall be heard, and all shall feel the 
influence of his guiding hand. And so, the good men do 
lives after them. 



[31] 



Address of Mr. Martin, of South Dakota 

Mr. Speaker: The career of Alexander Mitchell in 
this legislative body was, indeed, a brief one. But it 
was long enough to impress upon his fellow Members 
the quality and character of the man. His seat was 
almost within an arm's reach of my own desk. He 
appeared in this House but a few bi'ief days. I think 
that we were all impressed with his personality. We also 
were impressed with the conviction that the hand of 
death had already taken hold of what, when he appeared 
here, was a frail body. 

From tliis brief observation of the man I feel absolutely 
certain of certain traits of his character. I am sure that 
he was a sincere man. I am certain he was possessed and 
controlled by a very deep sense of public duty. T am 
certain that such ambition as he may have possessed 
was an ambition to devote all of his inherited and 
developed powers in contributing to the public welfare. 
Mr. Mitchell was a good example of what I shall call the 
"Kansas type of American citizenship." It is no fulsome 
praise of the able and distinguished sons of Kansas in 
both Houses of Congress at the present time to say that 
there is a Kansas type and quality of citizenship, and that 
for now more tlian half a cenlurj' it has performed a 
most useful and important part in shaping and deter- 
mining great national problems with which we, as a 
people, have liad to contend. 

The character and quality of that citizenship were 
determined more than half a century ago in the mighty 
struggles that were grouped about the settlement of the 
national problems leading up to and culminating in the 

[32] 



Address of Mr. Martin, of Sorni Dakota 

Civil War. Gladstone said of the American Constitution 
that it was the greatest instrument ever evolved from the 
intellect of man. And yet that great Constitution, which 
was a charter of human liherty, had placed in it, doubtless 
by virtue of the compromise of necessity, one provision 
absolutely out of harmony with all the balance of that 
immortal document. 

I refer to the provisions which permitted the impor- 
tation of slaves for a period of 20 years and recognized 
the right of the continuation of slavery in certain 
particular States indefinitely. In the very nature of the 
case those opposing principles must have developed — as 
they did develop eventually — into a mortal combat. 
Kansas, a border State, if not the seat of the material 
phases of that struggle, was, in a sense which perhaps 
can not be said of any other State, the arena and forum 
in which there was the mighty battling of the ideas upon 
which that struggle turned and by which it was eventually 
solved. And so we are not surprised that Kansas citizen- 
ship is always earnest, aggressive, if not controversial. 
The Kansas spirit is sincere, militant, patriotic. 

It is an interesting study which we as public men have 
forced upon us from time to time — to ascertain the differ- 
ent contributions from the different States of the Union 
to the composite character of American citizenship. We 
expect from New England conservatism, and we are 
rarely disappointed. From Kansas we expect a clear 
definition and an aggressive presentation of the two sides 
of every great national question. The middle of the 
road in Kansas is used for automobiles and for carrying 
to the market the bountiful harvests from her fertile 
fields. A public man in Kansas may be on the wrong 
side of a great public question and still retain his self- 
respect and tlic respect of his fellow citizens, but he must 
be on one side of the question. The middle of the road 

92842°— m .■! 133] 



Memorial Aodresses : Hephesentative Mitchell 

is not an arena for the solution of public questions in that 
young, virile, and vigorous Commonwealth. 

We now have another period of the testing out of the 
fundamental questions of the American Constitution. 
This decade is trying again the justness and the correct- 
ness of the elemental principles upon which this Govern- 
ment rests, and in the loss of a representative Member of 
the State of Kansas a gap is created which will be felt 
not only by the Commonwealth of Kansas, but by the 
entire Nation. 

We have had forced upon us recentlj' again the per- 
petual lesson of the uncertainty of human life. One week 
ago to-night, plying its way from Great Britain to the 
port of New York, what was supposed to be the greatest 
triumph in maritime construction was under full speed. 
It was a scene of brilliancy, of feasting, and of quiet con- 
fidence in the complete mastery of modern invention over 
the perils of the sea; and yet within less than two hours 
1,500 men lost their lives, their souls summoned into the 
presence of their Maker. Fifteen hundred men, the very 
flower of Anglo-Saxon civilization, perished. Their 
bodies were entombed in old ocean's gray and melan- 
choly waste. 

Within the j'ear we have lost some of the most promi- 
nent Members of this House of Representatives. Gen. 
Bingham, " the father of the House," has but recently 
disappeared from our midst. David J. Foster, one of 
nature's noblemen, has gone, and, as one of his close 
friends, I can scarcely yet realize that he has gone for- 
ever. I find myself almost involuntarily expecting to' 
meet his manlj' form and to greet his noble spirit here 
again on the floor. 

Within the year we have lost Judge Madison, another of 
the noble sons of Kansas, a man who, for the jjcriod of 
his service, I believe, impressed himself and his strong 

[34] 



Address of Mr. Martin, of South Dakota 



individuality and convictions upon us as forcefully and 
with as enduring an effect as any man who has been a 
member of this body during my term of service. Almost 
in an instant he passed from his home here to the home 
beyond. 

Mr. Mitchell had scarcely become familiar to us, his 
co-Members, when for him the golden bowl was broken, 
the silver cord was loosed, and he, another traveler, went 
on to his long home — 

That bourne from wliicfi no traveler returns. 

Seeing what I did of his personality in the few brief 
days of his service, I am not surprised, but much gratified, 
to hear the account of his manly passing on to the Eternal 
Beyond that has been given to us by members of his 
home delegation. Knowing that the summons was upon 
him, facing the realities of the great and unlimited future, 
he indeed went — 

Not, like tlie quarry-slave at niglit. 
Scourged to liis dungeon, but sustained and sootlied 
Bj' an unfaltering trust — 

He approached his grave — 

Like one tliat wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams. 



[351 



Address of Mr. Taggart, of Kansas 

Mr. Speaker: I confess the difliculty of the task of 
undertaking to pronounce a eulogy upon the life and 
character of my predecessor, Alexander Clark Mitchell, 
whose untimely death made it possible for me to render 
the lesser and humbler service that I may be able to give 
to the people of his district. 

I was not well or intimately acquainted with him; we 
met but a few times. But, perhaps, we can have a more 
just estimate of a man if we are not on terms of intimacy 
with liim. The common rumor, the opinion of others 
wlio knew him, his reputation in the city and the Slate in 
which he lived, his public service and the well-known 
facts of his life, aflford, perhaps, a basis for a more accu- 
rate judgment of the I'eal value of the man. Our admira- 
tion or affection for a man might warp our judgment, or 
perhaps on account of that indefinable and subtle weak- 
ness in human character whereby our likes and dislikes 
arise out of trivial matters, it may be if we were inti- 
mately acquainted with one that our estimate of him 
might be unjust on account of the very intimacy of the 
acquaintance. Therefore I can say that I am free to men- 
tion here the estimate of the people of the second district 
of Kansas of the services and the character of Alexander 
Clark Mhciiell. It has been mentioned here that he 
began life as a mechanic. Do we realize that the future 
ages will estimate the first and perhaps the second and 
possibly the third century of the life of this Republic not 
so nuich by what was said or written or sung as by the 
work of the hands of the American citizen? 



[36] 



Address of Mr. Taggart, of Kansas 



Surely the early centuries and generations of our coun- 
try will live in history as the age of mechanical genius, 
and their fame will finally rest on the marvelous achieve- 
ments of the mechanic. It was therefore fitting and 
proper that the young man should have developed his 
intelligence by coming in touch with the greatest of all 
American enterprises. Having come to Kansas in 1867, 
when he was but a child, and having had the privilege 
and advantage of growing up upon a Kansas farm sur- 
rounded by neighbors who were sturdy, honest, earnest, 
and filled with hope for the future, he grew up, as other 
Kansas boys grew, conscious of his strength and eager for 
the battle of life. He went back to Cincinnati, w-here he 
was born, and learned his trade, and then returned to 
Kansas and began work in the machine shops in Topeka. 
Then realizing that he had capacity for the acquirement 
of great learning, and having been urged by his friends, 
he took the law course in the Kansas University and grad- 
uated, in 1889, with honor and distinction. You will 
notice that he was not an early graduate, that he was then 
29 years of age, that he had waited until his mind had 
matured and until he was fully able to grasp the real pur- 
pose and meaning of the law. He had passed beyond that 
enthusiastic age of the young law student wherein he 
thinks that the triumph of the court room or before the 
jury is the final and greatest achievement of the lawyer. 

Alexander Clark Mitchell was a success as a lawj'er. 
He was born of a people who were formed for success. 
No well-informed person can read the name Alexander 
Mitchell without knowing at once that it originated in 
one of the least favored naturally of all the countries of 
the world, but one of the most distinguished spots 
beneath all the stars— the old Kingdom of Scotland. He 
was descended, evidently, of that virile, purposeful, and 
masterful race of people who have left their mark and 



[37] 



MEMORIAL Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

their monuments throughout the English-speaking world. 
He came of a Scotch family that had emigrated to 
Ireland and later came to the United States. He rep- 
resented a citizenship somewhat different from either 
one of the two original civilizations that were founded on 
this shore. We have the New England civilization and 
that other civilization that was founded at the mouth of 
the James River. The northern civilization was com- 
mitted to the great purpose of promoting intelligence. It 
worshiped books as if they were idols, relying upon the 
diffusion of general knowledge for the w-elfare of the 
Nation; and, above all things, it cherished the pride and 
strength of conscious intellectual supremacy. The other 
civilization was founded on the beautiful ideals of 
medieval chivalry, the exaltation of honor above all 
earthly treasure, and the glory of courage and of achieve- 
ments in arms. 

Each of these two civilizations was wedded to the past, 
the one at the North going back to those thoughts that 
culminated in the expression so wonderfully wrought out 
by Milton; the other drawing its inspiration from the 
traditions of Anglo-Saxon pride and glory. 

Separate and apart from these has come the western 
citizenship, that has unconsciously adopted the phi- 
losophy of Epictetus, who taught that — 

With respect to those things over which we have no power let 
us have no concern whatsoever nor trouble our minds thfrewith; 
but let us address ourselves to those things over whicli we have 
power, and with those matters let us with all our might perform 
our daily task. 

The western people have disregarded the prejudices 
and the hatreds of the past and have turned their faces 
toward the future. There are few monuments on the 
plains of Kansas or the western prairie erected to cele- 
brate the past; but nearly all that greets the eye was built 

138] 



Address of Mr. Taggart, of Kansas 



to provide for the necessities and the welfare of the 
future. 

Alexander Clark Mitchell was one of those who 
grasped fully that western philosophy. He was not 
wedded to the past. He acted in the living present. He 
hoped for the future. His whole career is proof that it is 
of value to the individual and to society to toil up from 
the bottom to the top, from the lowest round of the ladder 
to the highest. No one ever boasted of having ridden in 
a comfortable seat in a railway car to the top of Pike's 
Peak, but whoever has toiled up those nine miles of 
inclined plane and finally stood upon its summit never 
ceased to remember it. 

There is no achievement in being lifted; the real 
achievement is climbing. Alexander Mitchell's life was 
devoted to the present and the future, not to realize un- 
warranted ambitions; for, as a Member said, he was not 
one who was cursed with unwarrantable ambitions. He 
was one whose life and whose character was so fortunate 
that those about him who realized his worth took notice 
of it and urged him forward among the people as a man 
who could be trusted by them. He served in many 
capacities, as it was said here. He was a county attorney, 
and that office is a difficult one in the State in which he 
lived. He was a member of the board of regents of the 
State University, an office the services of which are gratui- 
tously given, but which is an honor in itself, and which 
manifested his desire to promote the greatest institution 
in the State. He served in the legislature. 

He took part in framing some of the wisest and some 
of the best laws on the statute books of Kansas, and I 
believe that among his greatest public services was the 
part he took in establishing firmly the bank guaranty 
law of that State. Perhaps he was deeply impressed by 
those who lost their money in banks that had failed. 



[39] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

Possibly he saw the sufferings and the calamities that 
had come to the poor in times past, when the savings of 
a lifetime were swept away in a night; and he devoted 
his talents most earnestly in support of a law that would 
make it sure that whoever deposited his money would 
not only have the good faith of the bank in which he 
placed it, but the united strength of all of the banks that 
were associated together under the law for mutual pro- 
tection. If he had done no other public service, this alone 
would have entitled him to a lasting place in the history 
of Kansas. We are told that the greatest characteristic 
of his life was his just estimate of public service. The 
time has passed when a man in public life can regard 
himself simply as one who is enjoying an honor. 

The intelligent public now requires that he must con- 
duct himself as one who is performing a service. He will 
not be permitted to claim any excellence on account of 
the honor he has enjoyed, but he must rest his claim for 
public esteem upon the service that he has rendered. 
Alexander Clark Mitchell regarded public office as a 
service and the incumbent of a public office as a public 
servant whose dutj' it was to render an account of his 
stewardship. 

And in that light he discharged everj' public duty that 
was thrust upon him. In this spirit he performed his duty 
as county attorney; he performed his duty as a member of 
the State Legislature of Kansas; he performed his duty 
as a member of the board of regents of the university, in 
each and every case not only to the public satisfaction, 
but with that active and energetic interest in the matter 
in hand which transcends the mere requirements of 
statute or custom. 

He came to this House, as has been said, witli the 
shadow of death upon liiin. He was afflicted with a 
cancer in his stomach. That is, perhaps, the most dreaded 

[40] 



Address of Mr. Taggart, of Kansas 



and terrible malady that can afflict the human race. 
Believing that he might have some hope of recovery from 
a surgical operation, he went as far as Kansas City, Mo., 
and on the 30th day of April submitted to the surgeon's 
knife. Having discovered that his stomach was in the 
grip of a. cancer, the surgeon was obliged to close the 
incision and inform him that he was without hope of 
recovery. 

Something was said here of that beautiful essay on 
" Compensation," written by Emerson, perhaps the finest 
effort of that gentle and pure-minded philosopher. But 
can we reason that nature will compensate us? Is nature 
all we have? Is not nature rather the puzzle and the task 
that is set before men, that they might unravel her 
mysteries, that they might conquer her forces, and that 
they might develop their intelligence by avoiding the 
wrath and the destruction of her elements? Nature has 
no respect for persons. She has no refuge for innocence. 
She has no regard for pain. In her mysterious processes 
she recks not of death or suffering, but performs the 
mandates of an irresistible power, even though all that 
was dear and all that was beloved met with destruction. 

Men have said that nature has taught another life; that 
the coming and going of the flowers are a prophecy of 
resurrection; that nature is an open book, out of which 
the mystery of the future might be read, and that our final 
destiny can be ascertained by consulting the panorama 
that she spreads before us in this earthly life. I can not 
understand that philosophy. Some one wrote asking the 
question — 

Is it true, O God in Heaven, that the strongest sullen most; 
That the wisest wander farthest and most hopelessly are lost? 
That the mark of rank in nature is capacity for pain; 
That the anguish of the singer makes the sweetness of the strain? 



[41] 



jNIemobial Addhesses: Representative Mitchell 

When we think it over it seems as though we must 
answer, " It is true." The hope of immortality was not 
bred by flowers or foliage. I would imagine rather that 
in the utter desolation of some desert, where there was 
notliing but sand and sky, men held up their hands and 
said, " Where shall we i-etreat? How shall ^ve escape 
from this solitude?" And it was in those solitudes and 
wildernesses that the message came which has comforted 
mankind in this life. 

No; 1 would not say that the coming and going of the 
seasons or the lesson of the leaves or the flowers can 
teach that there is another life. If there is anything in 
this earthly scene or in this experience outside of revela- 
tion that would teach the mighty mystei-j' of immortality, 
it would seem to be the love that exists among mortals. 

This was one of the early thoughts of men. Perhaps 
30 centuries ago it was written — and it is one of the most 
beautiful stories that was ever told — that a certain young 
king was about to be sacriflccd to appease the wrath of 
the gods. She who loved him came and asked him if 
they should ever meet again, and answering, he said: 

I have asked that dreadful question of the hills that look eternal, 

Of the flowing streams that lucid flow forever, 

Of the stars, amid wliose field of azure. 

My raised spirit hath trod in glory, and they all were dumb, 

But, now, as I thus gaze upon thy living face, 

I feel that the love that kindles through its beauty 

Can never wholly perish, and we shall meet again. 

The pure and unselfish devotion, given without thought 
of reward or recompense, argues the final working out of 
justice, and would seem to be the most convincing earthly 
proof of innnortalily. 

Mr. Mitchell, when about to go under the surgeon's 
knife, and that very evening before he submitted to the 



[421 



Address of Mr. Taggart, or Kansas 



dreadful ordeal, sent a message of sympathy to an 
attorney who lives in my city, whose son had been killed 
on that day by accident, it being the second child that he 
had lost within a year or two, and even though Mr. 
Mitchell might reasonably expect that he would never 
revive, he did not forget his brother attorney who was 
suffering the agony of bereavement at that hour. He was 
taken to his home in Lawrence. 

The hot summer came and yet it was stated in the local 
papers, several friends have said, that he faced the end 
with the undaunted fortitude and the unwavering 
purpose of that heroic race from which he was descended. 
Day by day, conscious that death was approaching, suffer- 
ing from the incision that was healing slowly, the martyr 
Availed patiently, and through it all he comforted himself 
that this life may not bring us justice, but if there is a 
future life that is not nature's work, but transcends 
nature, in that life we will have exact justice. He was a 
man who loved justice and who wished everyone to 
succeed. He wished everyone to have hope. I do not 
believe he ever said a word in his life or did an act that 
would destroy the hope of a human mortal, and it was 
with a sublime hope he was sustained until the end. He 
gave up his life in the very midst of a great career, just 
when he was passing the half century mark, when his 
mind and his faculties had ripened, when his public 
services would have been of the greatest value, yet he 
surrendered it all as calmly as if it were a mere matter 
of duty. And thus ended the life of Alexander Mitchell. 
No one will ever read or know of his life, his character, 
or his work who will not profit by having studied it, and 
no young man who has a noble ambition can fail to 
profit by his example. 



[43] 



Memorial Addhkssrs : P.hi'hesentativi-: Mitchei.i, 

The Speaker pro tempore. In accordance with the 
resolution previously adopted, and as a further mark of 
respect to the memory of the late Alexander C. Mitchell, 
the House will now stand adjourned. 

Accordingly (at 1 o'clock and 55 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned to meet to-morrow, Monday, April 22, 
1912, at 12 o'clock noon. 



[44] 



Proceedings in the Senate 

Saturday, July 8, 1911. 
The Senate met at 11 o'clock a. m. 

Prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce, D. D., 
as follows : 

O Thou who art the God of all comfort, as again the 
muffled voice of heavenly death is heard in our midst, we 
bow our heads in submission to Thy holy will. Yet are 
we not affrighted, seeing that whether living or dying we 
are Thine. Therefore though we walk through the valley 
of the shadow of death, we fear no evil; knowing that if 
the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have 
a building from Thee, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. And unto Thee, with whom is 
the fountain of life, and in whose light we shall see light, 
be glory on earth and in heaven, now and for evermore. 
Amen. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. 
South, its Chief Clerk, communicated to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of Hon. Alexander Clark 
Mitchell, late a Representative from the State of Kansas, 
and transmitted resolutions of the House thereon. 

The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions of the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secrelary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the Holse of Representatives, 

July S, 1911. 
Resolved, That the House has heard with regret and profound 
sorrow of the death of Alexander Clark Mitchell, Representa- 
tive in this House from the second congressional district of 
Kansas. 

[45] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

Resolved, That a committee of 15 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral, at Lawrence, Kans., and that the necessary 
expenses attending the execution of this order be paid out of the 
contingent fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for properly 
carrying out the provisions of this resolution. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which 
I send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolutions offered hy the 
Senator from Kansas will he read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions (S. Res. 99), as 
follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sensibility the 
announcement of the death of the Hon. Alexander Clark 
Mitchell, late a Representative from the State of Kansas. 

Resolved, That the Secretary be directed to communicate a 
copy of these resolutions to the House of Representatives. 

The resolutions were considered by unanimous con- 
sent, and unanimoush' agreed to. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
to the memory of the deceased, I move tliat tlie Senate 
adjourn. 

Tlic motion was unanimously agreed to, and (at 1 
o'clock and 56 minutes p. ni.) the Senate adjourned until 
Monday, July 10, 1911, at 11 o'clock a. m. 

Saturday, .Januarij 11, 101,3. 
Mr. Curtis. I desire to give notice that on Saturday, 
Fcbruai-y 8, 1913, I will ask the Senate to consider resolu- 
tions commemorative of the life, higli cliaracter, and pub- 
lic services of Hon. Edmond H. Madison and Hon. A. C. 
Mitchell, late Members of the House of Representatives 
from the State of Kansas. 

[46] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



Saturday, February 8, 1913. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Ulj^sses G. B. Pierce, D. D., offered 
the following prayer: 

Eternal God, our heavenly Father, as we stand before 
Thee on this day of precious memory we thank Thee that 
life is not so short that we can not for a time lay aside 
our customary' labors and yield ourselves to the tender 
and holy influences of this hour. As here we stand in 
Thy presence, we would take the shoes from off our feet, 
knowing that where Thy servants have faithfully and truly 
sought to do Thy will there indeed is holy ground. Here 
manifest Thyself unto our waiting spirits, we pray Thee, 
and fulfdl unto us Thy promise that where Thy children 
are gathered together in Thy name there Thou wilt be 
in their midst. 

Thou who art God, not of the dead but of the living, 
seeing that all souls live unto Thee, we thank Thee, not 
as we would but as we are able, for the blessed privilege 
of having known and labored with him whom we this 
day commemorate. Inspire our hearts, quicken our 
memories, and direct our thoughts, that the life which 
we would now honor may stand before us with all its 
power and in all its beauty. That life was Thine, our 
Father, and Thine it is. We yield Thee all praise, Holy 
One, for the priceless heritage of the memory of him 
whose life is now hid with Christ in Thee. 

We pray Thee to be near to those to whom this life 
was most dear and to comfort those whose tender sorrow 
is too great for words and too deep for tears. Uphold 
them with Thy heavenly power and let Thy grace be sulTi- 
cient for them until we, too, stand in Thy nearer pres- 
ence, where we shall know even as we have been known. 

And unto Thee, our God, who hast loved us with an 
everlasting love and hast called us into Thine eternal 



[47] 



/ 



Memorial Addresses : Representative Mitchell 

kingdom in Christ, unto Thee who hast given us eternal 
comfort and good hope through the Gospel, be all glory 
and praise on earth and in heaven, now and forevermore. 
Amen. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Marline of New Jersey in 
the chair). Tlie Chair lays before the Senate resolutions 
from the House of Representatives, which will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Rei'hesentatives, 

April 21, 1912. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. Alexandeh C. Mitchell, late a Member of the House from 
the State of Kansas. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased and in recognition of his distinguislied public 
career the House, at the conclusion of these exercises, shall stand 
adjourned. 

Resolved, That tiie Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to 
the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, 1 ofler the resolutions which 
I send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolutions will be read. 

The resolutions (S. Res. 160) were read, considered 
by unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as 
follows : 

Resolved. That the Senate expresses its profound sorrow on 
account of the death of Hon. Alexandeh C. Mitchell, late a Mem- 
ber of the House of Hepresentatives from the State of Kansas. 

Resolved, That tlie business of the Senate be now suspended 
in order that ritling tribute may be paid his high character and 
distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these 
resolutions to the House of Representatives and to the family of 
the deceased. 

[48] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Curtis, of Kansas 

Mr. President: We are met here at this hour in respect 
to the memoiy of the late Hon. Alexander C. Mitchell. 
of the second district of Kansas, whose death occurred 
soon after he entered upon his duties as a Member of the 
Sixty-second Congress. In fact, his health was such that 
many of his friends thought it unwise for him to come to 
Washington to assume his office, but he had been elected 
and felt that his place was here, and came to do his part, 
and he did it faithfully to the end. 

He was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 11, 1860; was 
educated in the common schools and the University of 
Kansas, graduating in June, 1889, with the degree of 
LL. B.; engaged in the practice of law at Lawrence, Kans.; 
was count}^ attorney of Douglas County, Kans., for four 
years; member of the Kansas Legislature for four years 
and of the State board of law examiners three years; 
married Miss Helen M. Baldwin July, 1890. 

His service in the House was too brief to give those who 
did not know him a view of his talents and his abilities. 
The earnest study which he gave to the great subjects 
of national legislation, the independence of view with 
which he surveyed the entire field, and the wisdom of 
his conclusions evidenced that with experience he would 
have been a valuable servant for the people who had so 
recently honored him at the polls. He was an able lawyer 
and had won an enviable position at the bar of Kansas. 



02842°— IS 4 f49] 



Memori.\l Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

He had been a member of the legislature and had forged 
to the front as a leader, and it can be justly said that his 
public service previous to his entrance into the sphere 
of national legislation had been most useful and dis- 
tinguished. 

He of whom I speak was ever ready to battle strenu- 
ously for the things he thought to be right, yet always 
ready and willing to meet more than halfway those who 
disagreed with him and to settle questions for the best 
interest of all concerned. Mr. Mitchell's private life 
was clean, wholesome, honorable. His home life 
was ideal, happy, and pleasant, and with his death there 
has passed from his family, his friends, and the public 
a man of unblemished and noble character, a man of 
varied and marked abilities. He accomplished a great 
work in less than the full span of human life. In the 
State of Kansas, where his honors were won, his demise 
is universally regretted and deplored. 



[50] 



Address of Mr. Bristow, of Kansas 

Mr. President: An able lawyer, an experienced and 
useful legislator, successful in the administration of im- 
portant and varied public duties, frugal and generous in 
business affairs, spotless in private character, a citizen of 
high standing and commanding influence in his commu- 
nity; at the age of 50 chosen to represent his congres- 
sional district in the National House of Representatives, 
and at the veiy threshold of a promising congressional 
career, stricken with a fatal disease, he passed away. 

This briefly tells the story of the attainments of Alex- 
ander Clark Mitchell. Why one so well equipped to 
serve, possessing character, industrj', intelligence of a 
high order, and superb moral worth should be taken, 
while millions who do not possess such a combination of 
noble attributes are left, is one of the inexplicable mys- 
teries of human existence. 

Mr. Mitchell was elected to represent the second Kan- 
sas district in Congress in November, 1910. He received 
a large majority for that district, much larger than was 
usually given to the Republican candidate. He enjoyed 
in a high degree the confidence of the people. They be- 
lieved in his integrity and had faith in his ability. They 
loved him and trusted him. He was permitted to serve 
them but a short time, yet those of us who knew him well 
can fully realize the great loss they sustained in his death. 

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in October, 1860, came 
to Kansas when a young man, and began life in his 
adopted State as a farm hand. By his own efforts he 
acquired a good education, graduating from our State 
university in June, 1889. He began the practice of law 

[51] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Mitchell 

in Lawrence the same year and soon became one of the 
leaders at the bar and continued to hold a high position 
in his profession until his death. He was honored by the 
people of his county by being elected as their county 
attorney for two terms, was chosen twice to represent his 
district in the State legislature, served as regent of the 
State university for six years, and was a member of the 
State board of law examiners for three years. In 1890 
he was married to Miss Helen M. Baldwin, and she and 
three children mourn the lost of a devoted husband and 
a kind father. While no plummet line of sympathy can 
fathom the depths of their grief, yet thousands of friends 
yearn to help them bear their burden. \Mth a deep and 
abiding sorrow 1 bow with them in their great affliction, 
for the death of "Alec " Mitchell was to me a personal 
bereavement. He was my intimate friend. We were 
about the same age and started our political life together 
in the same community. When 1 was elected to a seat 
in this body he presented my name to the Kansas Legis- 
lature. The mutual joy which that day brought us l^oth 
no fitting phrase can properly express. 1 knew him well 
for 25 years. For a quarter of a centui'y we worked side 
by side in the fierce political conflict that was waged in 
Kansas for better government. In that struggle he was 
always on the firing line. Able in counsel, cool in judg- 
ment, and vigorous in action, he bore well his part in 
every battle. 

I feel his death more deeply than words can express. 
Wlien he passed away I lost a beloved friend and a wise 
counselor whose place can not be filled. But not only 
was his death a great loss to his intimate personal friends, 
but a disaster to his district, from which it will not re- 
cover for years to come. We loved him, we mourn his 
loss, and with fortitude submit to the inexorable decree 
of an all-wise Providence whose judgments are good, and 



[52] 



Address of Mr. Bristow, ov Kansas 



though we can not now understand them we know that 
they are wise, and we patiently wait for the unfolding of 
the years to reveal His purpose in visiting upon us this 
great affliction. 

Mr. Curtis. Mr. President, I offer the resolution which 
I send to the desk. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolution will be read. 
The Secretary read the resolution, as follows: 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased Senators Robert Love Taylor and George S. Nixon 
and deceased Representatives Edmond H. Madison and Alexander 
C. Mitchell the Senate do now adjourn. 

The resolution was unanimously agreed to; and (at 2 
o'clock and 47 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
Monday, February' 10, 1913, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



0^ 



[53] 



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"■yractise, X. \- 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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